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KIDNAP CHARACTERISTICS
Figures show that executive kidnappings often occur close to the in-country hotel or residence or en route to and from the airport. Hotel chauffeurs do not assess routes to and from the hotel or the airport to allow for sufficient alternatives to prevent predictable patterns of travel. This places executives at a higher risk. To keep safe, executives need to vary their daily routes to prevent kidnappers searching for potential targets from assessing patterns in movements and schedules.
This means leaving your hotel or residence at different times each day and using different routes. Likewise, when coming back to your hotel or residence, vary times of departure and routes of travel. Executives should be aware that statistics show they are most vulnerable to kidnapping in the morning because evening travel patterns are less predictable. It’s important that executives have a clear picture of the dynamics of kidnapping, where it happens, who is at risk, who the kidnappers are, how they function and what inspires them. The following are kidnapping behavioral, organizational and operational characteristics.
BEHAVIORAL CHARACTERISTICS
Males are overwhelmingly the perpetrators in executive kidnappings. Kidnappers may be between 29 and 35 years of age, well-educated and dedicated, and some may be willing to die for their cause, whether political or even financial. The majority of kidnappers will be a member of the country’s indigenous population and have inconspicuous features that can blend in anywhere. Kidnappers are normally physically fit, know self-defense and may have military or security training in weapons use, tactics and explosives. Most kidnappers utilize high levels of planning normally involving target intelligence gathering, casing, preparation and rehearsal. The following are the behavioral and operational characteristics of professional kidnap groups.
MINDSET
Most often kidnappers will be well-equipped, well-led, motivated to win and highly adaptive. Kidnappers are commonly quick thinking, lack emotionalism and have a high degree of dedication and discipline. They have been known to display courage and confidence during operations. Their patience, determination and perseverance are based on politically centered issues or financial gain. They are well-schooled in the languages and cultures of the regions covered by their group and are skilled in a variety of kidnap tasks. Kidnappers have a high degree of emotional self-control and a low degree of empathy and sensitivity.
PHYSICAL CONDITION
Kidnappers are generally of an age that places them in their years of greatest physical strength, endurance and durability. They typically have the capability to blend with the local populace. In numerous cases they are indigenous inhabitants of the general population, which gives them a key advantage over their targets.
TRAINING
Kidnappers generally have high levels of proficiency with tactics, techniques and weapons. Kidnappers may also have extensive training in surveillance and reconnaissance to select optimum targets, locations, times and escape routes. Most possess common skills and experience to function at a graduate level both physically and mentally. Professional kidnappers have a much broader range of talents and skills than poorly funded or untrained groups such as gangs of unemployed youths and disorderly street thugs.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
EQUIPMENT
To achieve their objectives, kidnappers use a variety of tools. They may employ disguises such as wigs, mustaches, beards and clothing. They normally wear gloves, utilize tape and blindfolds, use counterfeit documents, communication equipment, forced entry and surveillance tools. As a means of overpowering and disorientating the victim, the target is often immediately drugged with an anesthetic given through injection. Wildnila®, sometimes administered to immobilize kidnap victims, has an analgesic potency 10,000 times that of morphine and is used in veterinary practice to immobilize certain large animals (elephants, rhinoceroses, wolves, seals and polar bears).
WEAPONS
Kidnappers are generally well-armed with handguns, silencers, automatic weapons, hand grenades and cold weapons; these include knives, hatchets and iron pipes, etc.
TRANSPORTATION
They will have suitable means of transportation that often include a surveillance vehicle, kidnap vehicle and security vehicle. These vehicles include private and leased vehicles, commercial vehicles, stolen vehicles and motorcycles.
BUDGET
Like everyone else, kidnappers have problems with their operating budgets. Funds are required for preparations, vehicles, gas and safe houses and the day-to-day operational expenses of the group. Sufficient resources are spent during the pre-operational target surveillance and reconnaissance periods. Although most kidnappers receive financing from other criminal activities (robbery, extortion, drug sales, etc.), there are significant budget restrictions on each operation. Leaders within the kidnap group will not employ operational assets without serious consideration of the cost/benefit factors and will not spend funds carelessly.
As a result, planning focuses on budget restrictions, limitations and losses against the value of a probable target. Kidnappers look for low-cost, low-risk targets to maximize their operational chances of success. Therefore, kidnap operations concentrate on economy of personnel and money management and balance the likelihood of losses against the investment value of the kidnap target.
OPERATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS
Operational characteristics refer to the actions employed by kidnappers, reflecting their capabilities and objectives. Because kidnap groups operate in a low-profile mode, their characteristics sometimes go unnoticed. In efforts to locate a victim of prominence, kidnappers put a close watch on probable executive targets and places. This organized form of observation is called pre-kidnap surveillance.
Kidnappers utilize mobile surveillance, which involves following the target from place to place, and stationary surveillance, which involves observing targets from fixed positions. This may include sitting in vehicles for extended periods of time or standing back from a window on an upper floor, following the target’s moves. Both methods require good cover to ensure kidnap surveyors do not suspiciously stand out or arise suspicion.
As Sun Tzu says: “Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.” Keep safe out there.
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Source by Doc Rogers
